Sunday night, the only night the River Café is closed, is the most precious of my week. It is when I become a "cook" instead of a "chef", though the boundaries remain blurred. My Sunday-night supper is a scratch affair, as at most homes, but this week I have done a little advance planning. You could always think about this for a long lunch.

The dishes I have chosen here have no more than three main ingredients, which gives each a chance to shine. Buying only the best also gives you a conscience. Two of my recipes use ricotta – I would rather not waste a thing.

The meal loosely references an area of southern Italy called Irpinia, a place where I have family ties and so is dear to me. In Irpinia, orecchiette is the supreme handmade pasta. The fresh version requires many hours of work so I have chosen to substitute dried "little ears" instead. If you feel like having a go at making the real McCoy, a warning: it is difficult to perfect, as my grandmother once demonstrated at the dinner table, separating my inferior orecchiette from her own. I like them with nothing but salted ricotta and grand olive oil, but I made this leek sauce for a recent Sunday-night supper and it was declared the best thing I had ever made. Buy the most expensive, slow-dried, robust pasta you can and the best anchovies on the shelf.

Salt cod might not be that easy to find if you do not have a good fishmonger nearby. And that is before you navigate the minefield of it being responsibly caught. I buy Icelandic salt cod caught by longline from small boats that work within a catch-quota system. (You can buy it online from Brindisa.com). It will last forever, so there is no reason not to stock up. Along with stockfish, its longevity makes it the traditional fish of landlocked Irpinia. A version of this dish is often eaten on Christmas Eve in Italy, when celery is at its best. The hard hearts are sweetened and crisped by cold. Salt cod and potatoes is a partnership that, for me, puts this on a par with some truly great dishes.

Hazelnuts and chocolate – another good match. Famously, Nutella came into being to make meagre chocolate rations during the war stretch further. It is the hazelnuts that command the higher price now and the trees in the southern wine region are as well-regarded as those in rival Piedmont. This cake uses only ricotta as shortening and is not too sweet: perfect Monday-morning breakfast material with a cup of milky coffee or chocolate to keep out the cold.

Taralli

These traditional biscuits are perfect with an aperitif. Fennel seeds, olive oil and salt are the three ingredients that give them character. They last for months in an airtight container. Makes about 40.

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the yeast, salt, fennel seeds and black pepper. Add all the wet ingredients and mix with your hands. Once you have a workable dough, transfer to a hard surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. A good test: if you make an indentation with your finger, the dough should spring back slightly. Add more wine or a spot of water if it feels dry or difficult to work. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Cut a good piece of dough and roll to a width of 5mm (roughly the diameter of a birthday candle). Cut into lengths of about 5cm - longer if you like. Pinch the ends together to make a droplet shape.

Drop into boiling water a few at a time. They should quickly rise to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 25 minutes. If they feel soft, don't worry - they will harden as they cool.

Thinly slice the garlic and fry in olive oil over a medium to high heat. When the garlic starts to turn sticky and translucent add the anchovies, turning down the heat to let them melt. Then add the parsley with a knob of butter and the sliced leeks. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Check for doneness.

Boil the pasta in plenty of boiling salty water. Once the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander, reserving a couple of tbsp of the cooking water to add to the sauce. Add the ricotta and the pasta and toss until mixed.

Salt cod, potatoes and celery

Provide a spoon along with a knife and fork for the delicious cooking juice. Serves 4.

salt cod 500g, soaked for two days in three changes of water and cut into piecespotatoes 750g, peeled and cut into cubes 1.5cm thickcelery 1 head with root and leaves, washed and cut on the bias to the same thickness as the potatoesgarlic 2 cloves, thinly sliceddried chilli crumbled, a pinchsea saltextra-virgin olive oil

In a heavy-bottomed pot, cook the garlic in a generous glug of olive oil over a medium heat. When the garlic starts to get sticky, add a pinch of dried chilli and a pinch of salt, then the celery, leaves and all. Stir for a minute to allow the flavours to infuse before adding the potatoes and covering with water. Once it begins to simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 20 minutes over a low heat or until the potatoes are barely done, keeping the level of the water just below that of the other ingredients. Add the cod pieces, skin side up, and turn down the heat. The cod should cook for 5-10 minutes depending on its thickness. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Tuck slithers of garlic and the rosemary beneath the leaves of the artichoke. Season well before frying them with a generous pour of olive oil in a small pot. Add the capers and cook for 2 minutes before adding the tomatoes and a glass of wine. Cover with foil and a lid and turn the heat down so the artichokes can steam. The time they take will depend on their size, but it should be about 20 minutes. Check to see if the pan has dried every 5 minutes or so, adding the rest of the wine and a little water when necessary until ready.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and grease and line a 25x9cm loaf tin. Beat the ricotta, sugar, salt and egg yolk in a large bowl. When smooth add the vanilla and orange and continue mixing. Next add the ground and chopped nuts and fold in the flour and baking powder. Transfer to the loaf tin. Break the chocolate into shards and press into the cake batter. Bake for about 45 minutes. The cake should be well-risen and feel firm to touch.